Jeter wary of rally monkey

Yankees captain did not think Game 4 win came easy

Derek Jeter knows the Angels aren't rolling over, despite the Yankees' three-games-to-one lead in the ALCS and a convincing 10-1 victory in Game 4.

"It wasn't a breather, man," Jeter, whose Yankees scored half their runs in their final two at-bats, told the Los Angeles Times. "It was a breather for what? An inning and a half? I mean it's 5-1 going into the eighth inning. A couple of guys [get] on, and the monkey comes out, and you never know what's going to happen.

"It wasn't a breather. The playoffs, man, anything can happen."

Rollins keeps the faith: Jimmy Rollins credited the power of positive thinking for his two-out, two-run, game-ending double in Monday night's 5-4 victory over the Dodgers.

"Just belief," Rollins told MLB.com. "We believe in ourselves. We believe in our ability. As long as you continue to believe in good things, I believe -- and I think we believe -- that good things will happen."

Sabathia just fine again on short rest: Pitching on three days' rest wasn't a problem for CC Sabathia.

"You know that going on certain rest that you're not going to have like your best fastball," Sabathia told the New York Daily News before his start on Tuesday. "So, you've just got to stay under control and make sure my delivery is good, and make sure I go out there and throw strikes."

Sabathia allowed only one run on five hits and two walks in eight innings. Sabathia, who struck out five, is now 2-0 in the ALCS with a 1.12 ERA and is 3-0 overall this postseason. He's 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA for his career when pitching with three days' rest.

Mientkiewicz has been in this spot before: The Dodgers now trail three games to one in the NLCS but two members of the club -- Manny Ramirez and Doug Mientkiewicz -- played on the Red Sox team that battled back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Yankees en route to the 2004 World Series title.

"We were too dumb to realize what we were up against," Mientkiewicz told the Los Angeles Times.

"It's not as monumental a task if you think of it as having to win three one-game series," Mientkiewicz said.

Martinez sees Phillies leading the chase: Pedro Martinez is scheduled to start Game 6 of the NLCS for the Phillies. Martinez, however, is hopeful that his team will clinch in Game 5.

"If we were a car, we would probably be in trouble with the law because this team really speeds up and never lets down," Martinez told the Los Angeles Times. "I think we're more of a NASCAR-type of team We actually feel like we're in the driver's seat -- the NASCAR driver's seat. I think we have a very good chance to actually win" the series on Wednesday.

Sabathia turns to changeup to thwart Angels: The Angels beat Sabathia twice during the regular season, but he went to his off-speed stuff more in his ALCS Game 4 win.

"He moved his fastball in and out, but he used his changeup more than usual," Angels center fielder Torii Hunter told the Los Angeles Times. "He kept our guys off-balance. ... You have a guy like that throwing 95 mph, you've got to be ready for his fastball.

"His changeup has really become a dynamic pitch," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "It's really improved, and we had trouble adjusting to it tonight."

Lidge not worried about deep holes: You can count Brad Lidge among those that never counts the Phillies out of any game -- no matter the score.

"A lot of teams say they play 27 outs, but I don't know if there is anybody that does it as well as we do," Lidge told MLB.com. "There isn't a ninth-inning deficit that we don't think we can overcome."

Greinke knows when to hold 'em: Players from all over Major League Baseball have their own ways of unwinding. For Zack Greinke, his current relaxation technique is to play cards and to do so in a non-competitive way.

"I feel like it's best when you don't get intense in cards and just stick to the plan and strategy and don't really mess with it, because when you do something that doesn't work or the odds aren't in your favor, you're going to lose more than you're going to win that way. So that's how I play," Greinke told MLB.com.

Freese plays himself into contention at third: With both Troy Glaus and Mark DeRosa ready to enter the world of free agency, the Cardinals may not need to look any further than their own organization and St. Louis native David Freese.

"We have to look at the make-up of our club and how everything comes together between now and next spring. But, given the second half that he had in Triple-A and how he played up here, it's my preference to give David a chance to win the job," general manager John Mozeliak told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Bell warming up in Arizona: Orioles third base prospect Josh Bell had four hits, an RBI and three runs scored on Monday and was batting .533.

"There are a lot of good pitchers out here with good off-speed pitches. I'm trying to stay focused and look for the fastball," Bell told MLB.com.

Cotts plans to come back stronger from surgery: Neal Cotts, who underwent Tommy John surgery in July, is confident he will be back stronger than ever on the mound for the Cubs in 2010.

"There's so many success stories you've seen," he told MLB.com. "I've played with [Ryan Dempster] and [Kerry Wood], and they both had it, and obviously, their careers didn't end when they had it. I don't know if it's better or worse to have [the surgery], but you see so many stories of people who come back, and they're either recommitted and better, or they're stronger and it works out. I think you can rely on those stories more than anything."

Holland makes trek to Japan: In an effort to land Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, the Texas Rangers sent Derek Holland to Japan along with front office members Jim Colborn and A.J. Preller, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

"Just how he would fit perfectly with our Rangers staff," Holland said via text message when asked about his pitch to Kikuchi. "He's a good pitcher with good command and also is a competitor like the rest of the guys."

Holland said Kikuchi asked him about what life is like in the Major Leagues and what the competition is like.

"I feel confident about the visit," Holland said. "We made some solid ground, and he seemed interested and happy to have us in the room."

Webb plans to be back with D-backs: Brandon Webb, who is recovering from shoulder surgery performed in August, had a meeting with Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes concerning his future with the Diamondbacks and came away pleased.

"Basically, Josh said they had every intention of picking the option up barring something crazy happening," Webb told MLB.com. "They told me they would probably take it down to the end before officially doing it. I understand where they are coming from with that. Sure I'd like to know now, but it makes sense for them. It was a good meeting. I felt good about it, and I think they did too."